Hey Everyone
Rafael here,
GUEST POST TODAY
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For those who aren’t athletes, the goals can get blurry and vague. The young and uninformed read colorful magazines with models on the covers and do the workouts inside, not realizing that the 20 exercise/gazillion rep workout they are about to attempt was only used for 6-8 weeks as the bodybuilder prepped for a show, and not what they do year round. The other ten months of workouts wouldn’t sell magazines, they are boring and difficult. The somewhat experienced but still uninformed rely on the internet for their information, and take everything they read as gold, (just as dangerous), and attempt every 6 week challenge they read about, but only make it through 2 weeks before they read about the next best thing. The experienced and knowlegable still make mistakes, as they will follow programs, perform the lifts correctly, but falter when they fail to remove an old lift for every new one they inject. They end up attempting to be masters at everything but eventually the house begins to collapse.
Rafael here,
GUEST POST TODAY
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I was going to title this “Why do you train?”, but since most of you reading this train people for a living, I didn’t want you asking a retrospective question regarding your current profession, but rather, what drives you and your clients to work out?
There is a great summary written by Eric Cressey where he goes into the difference between “working out” and “training”, but I won’t get into the semantics between the two, and thus will use the words interchangeably here.
So back to the question, why DO you train? For every person reading this there will be a different answer, and that’s the point. For athletes, particularly those on a team where their performance dictates their paycheck or scholarship, they train in order to earn money, either in cash or books. For physique competitors, they train with more regard to how much weight it looks like they can lift rather than how much they can actually lift. Powerlifters and Olympic lifters only care about 2-3 lifts, while Strongmen and Highland Games athletes do all kinds of weird shit (while lifting craploads of weight in the process).
For those who aren’t athletes, the goals can get blurry and vague. The young and uninformed read colorful magazines with models on the covers and do the workouts inside, not realizing that the 20 exercise/gazillion rep workout they are about to attempt was only used for 6-8 weeks as the bodybuilder prepped for a show, and not what they do year round. The other ten months of workouts wouldn’t sell magazines, they are boring and difficult. The somewhat experienced but still uninformed rely on the internet for their information, and take everything they read as gold, (just as dangerous), and attempt every 6 week challenge they read about, but only make it through 2 weeks before they read about the next best thing. The experienced and knowlegable still make mistakes, as they will follow programs, perform the lifts correctly, but falter when they fail to remove an old lift for every new one they inject. They end up attempting to be masters at everything but eventually the house begins to collapse.
As a trainer, you could be training to prepare for a certification of some kind, and most likely your clients have weight loss goals. Also, I’m guessing that if you are a trainer or a coach, that you entered that profession because you A) realized you excelled at working out (be it strength or cardiovascular exercises) and B) you glean some kind of intrinsic value from the workouts themselves.
Some people just like to lift weights, do circuits, take classes, whatever piques their interest. But sometimes, people lose the forest for the trees, and start chasing too many goals at the same time. It’s pretty much common sense now that you can’t make serious attempts to lose significant amounts of fat and gain significant amounts of muscle simultaneously. I’m talking about attempting to set deadlift PR’s while training for a marathon, or going through a mass-building cycle while experimenting with intermittent fasting. They just don’t work.
When we are young, this is common. We want to excel at everything all the time. But eventually, we have to take a step back, and ask
ourselves “Why am I doing all of this?” and “Are my workouts actually getting me closer to my end result?” Simply put, “Keep the goal, the goal” as Dan John has said.
ourselves “Why am I doing all of this?” and “Are my workouts actually getting me closer to my end result?” Simply put, “Keep the goal, the goal” as Dan John has said.
Do you like to do things outdoors? Play pick-up games of various sports? Perform parlor tricks and feats of strength? Or maybe you really just like working out?
Whatever it is, take a step back, and make a list. Prioritize your activities, figure out which one is your favorite, and then figure out which activities either support or detract from your favorite. This is just the beginning to being successfully active long into your years.
Tim Peterson
Chief FitRanX® Instructor
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That was AWESOME
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There is a secret out there that leads to instantly having a better self-image. Before we let you in on this secret, consider that poor self-image is often related to what a person looks like, namely, overall body size.
Where does this body-size-related self-image come from? Why is “thin in”? Male movie stars of many decades ago did not have the physiques they do today, with the exception of whichever actor was playing Tarzan at the time. A chiseled body on a man was an anomaly in the 1930’s, ‘40s, ‘50s and even ‘60s.
Nowadays, a man with the body of Humphrey Bogart won’t get too far on the big screen. As for the women, standards haven’t changed: Waist sizes in today’s starlets are just as small as they were many decades ago.
But we didn’t hear of body image disorders back then. Today, seems that’s all we hear about. What’s going on?
Well, the fame of fashion models may have something to do with it, plus all the magazines and Internet space devoted to “who’s wearing what” in the entertainment world, plus the skimpy and seductive outfits that today’s female recording artists wear. Self-worth for many young people—even not so young (a la Demi Moore), is tied to physical appearance.
So here’s that little secret:
Rather than focus on what your body looks like, focus on what it can do.
This small shift in thinking will produce magnificent results.
At age 12, Cheryl Haworth weighed 240 pounds. By age 17 and standing almost 5-10, Cheryl weighed just over 300 pounds. These measurements are enough to sink the spirit of any growing girl and demolish her with never-ending self-hatred.
However, Cheryl didn’t worry about what she looked like. Instead she focused on what her enormous body could do. She played softball, and this one day (when she was 12) led her to a gym where the sights and sounds of weight lifting mesmerized her. She was hooked. At age 17 she took the bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics in weight lifting.
This doesn’t mean that the cure for any individual with a self-image problem is to perform weight lifting at Olympic level caliber. But you get the point. Set performance-related goals, such as:
• Run one mile outside nonstop
• Bench press 100 pounds (women); 175 pounds (men)
• Get through a step aerobics class without having to sit out and rest
• Run 12 mph on the treadmill for one minute—without holding on
• Master inline skating
• Complete an indoor climbing route rated at least 5.10
• Earn a green belt, then purple belt, then black belt in karate
There are endless “what your body can do” goals that you can devise. When you begin concentrating on effort and performance, the vanity aspect fades into the background. If you’re distraught over your thunder thighs, imagine how proud of them you’ll be when they can complete a five-mile hilly hike with ease.
If you’re distressed over a receding hairline, guys, it won’t matter so much when you realize your bench press is progressing like a demon.
We’d all like to change something about our body that we have little or no control over. Every women would love to zap away all the hair follicles on her legs so she never has to shave again. Many men would like to be taller.
Rather than stew over that which we cannot change, let’s expend energy on changing what we can change: stamina, strength, fitness and health. Don’t get caught up with “body types.” Instead, get caught up with body strength, body endurance and body fitness.
Eat healthful foods not because you want to look like a Victoria’s Secret model, but because you want to slash your risk of breast cancer and be around to see your grandkids grow up.
It’s always the right time to improve your self-image, no matter where you’re at on the continuum. For more assistance in getting on the path to loving yourself more, give us a call.
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